Price Matching Guarantees in Canada

I thought if would be a good idea with the holiday shopping season in full force to list the stores online or box, that will price match items if you find it advertised cheaper elsewhere. Some offer the full difference and 5-10% on top of that. Each have their own conditions and generally are found in store or in the “help” or “customer service”Â section of the website.

I tried to get a price match at Best Buy and was rejected because the item was on sale at Zellers. It has to be a regular, everyday price and not a sale item to get the deal. However, three days later, I noticed that BestBuy did drop the price to match the Zellers price! That’s ok because I was ticked and bought it from Zellers anyway LOL. But, I didn’t get the 10% extra discount offered by BB.

Scarecrow, I had that happen with my wireless router at futureshop.ca, exactly 29 days later it went on 20 bucks cheaper!
I called customer service since im 45 min from one, and they credited me back the difference! It was sweet!

Zehrs will price match on magor items if there price is cheaper within 14 days and its not a clearance item.

I tried to PM yesterday at Walmart for the buy 2 get 1 free offer on video games as listed in the Toys R Us flyer with no luck. It was one of the most frustrating things I have done in a long time. I ended up writing a letter to head office about the experience, so we will see what comes of that.

It would not make sense to have a price match deal on an offer of buy two get one free. That requires the inventory to be the same. There’s a huge difference between matching a price and offering the exact same deals.

Also to support someone else, it’s true Superstores in Eastern Canada do not price match.

Not sure if this is relevant here, but the Wyndham Worldwide hotel chain (includes Super 8, Ramada, Days Inn, Travelodge, etc) offers free hotel rooms if you find a lower rate on another website. There’s a blog called the Best Rate Guarantee Blog that shows you where to look for the lower rates, saving a step. I’ve recieved 20 free nights through this program, it’s worth looking into for any Smart Canucks looking to save $$$ on hotels this holiday season.

I recently did a price match at Best Buy with regards to an ad that ran in the Zellers flyer for Wii Mario Kart with Extra Wheel bonus. Zellers was sold out (got a raincheck), so I went into Best Buy with the ad and asked if they would match it. They did (even though Zellers did not have stock) and gave me an extra 10% off. Pretty much all stores now will price match, if they want to make a sale. Canadian Tire will price match on an identical item and give you extra Canadian Tire money and I think an extra 10% off.

Leons Furniture is really good about price matching as well and I think they throw in an extra 10% off. Best Buy so far is the easiest to price match at as long as you have the ad as proof for the store you want to match with.

Philippines — As the world observes the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), five multinational corporations, including four operating in the Philippines, were named Wednesday by an international labor rights group in its â€œWorking for Scroogeâ€ list this year.

The companies were accused of union intimidation, preventing union formation and other violations against union organizations.

ILRF said that among other rights related to workers, the UDHR stated that â€œeveryone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interestsâ€ (Article 23, Section 4).

The group said that the US-based companies on ILRFâ€™s list would use intimidation and even violence to violate their workersâ€™ internationally recognized right to organize.

ILRF has launched an e-mail drive on its website to call on the companies to stop alleged labor rights violations.

â€œAs we commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, consumers and labor rights advocates globally can support the human rights of workers by letting these companies know that they need to respect the right to organize,â€ ILRF executive director Bama Athreya said.

ILRF lamented that despite the labor rights protections in the UDHR, United Nations and International Labor Organization declarations and national labor laws, workers continued to see their rights trampled on a daily basis.

The group cited a recent survey of violations of trade union rights, the International Trade Union Confederation, which reported that at least 91 unionists were killed globally as a result of their organizing efforts in 2007.

We tried price matching a TV at Future Shop and they said they couldn’t match the price because it “was way below their price”. I found that interesting…..so we went to Sears and they did the price match for us- no problem!

Wal-Mart will price match, but they won’t give you anything off for it after that. For electronics you’re best to deal with Futureshop and Best Buy – plus, sometimes they’ll give you a bonus anyways. My sister bought a camera earlier this year at Futureshop, and they gave her $20 off when she signed up for the extended warranty! I bought my Wii from Futureshop and I got a discount on the warranty too. My mom got her computer from Best Buy and they discounted her as well. And as long as you talk to the right people, you can almost always get a discount on anything. The first person you talk to doesn’t always have the authority.

Be aware of any scanning code of practice too. If the price scans up (anywhere as far as I know) more than the advertised or ticketed price, if it’s under $10 you get it free, or you get it for the correct price plus the first $10 off.

The scanning code of practice doesn’t apply at Zellers. Their prices are wrong quite often, and then you have to go and get your money back at Customer Service if you didn’t notice it at the cash register.

Blacks – Amazing!
Bought my D40 from them, i brought in a online price from a photo store back in Ontario which isn’t out here in BC and they price matched it and knocked it down 10%. I had included shipping in my printout, but she took that off too! In the end I got it for 55 bucks cheaper than their retail price which was already quite competitive.

Futureshop – Meh, Personal was irritating. Once again I found a online price that with shipping worked out to 12 bucks cheaper than the computer speakers at Futureshop. The sales associate i had was quite pleasant and helpful, and said it would be fine but it wasn’t his call so his supe would have to approve things. His supervisor told me that Futureshop didn’t match online prices whatsoever and was quite rude about things. I considered taking my case to the manager, but i had received such poor service up to that point that i had become to annoyed to spend any money at the place. Went home and ordered them online, and they arrived two days later without a hitch.

Tried to price match at Zellers last week with a future shop flyer on ONE CD.
This was what the manager told me “they don’t price match us so we don’t price match them”
So we left and went to future shop!

I agree with Cat. The SCOP is voluntary, and I know for a fact that Zellers doesn’t follow this, and if they did, they’d lose a lot of money as their prices are off probably 25% of the time that I am there.

I tried to price match my washer and dryer at Future Shop(it was cheaper in the brick flyer). It was the hugest ordeal EVER! They called the brick to see if the item was in stock. They took in to account that the bricks delivery cost more than theres so the price wouldnt be cheaper. What a pile of horsepoo. They pay an outside company to deliver anyways. I guess it pays to have a truck. Then my card was authorized with the wrong amt and i had to talk to Visa on the phone. Then she didnt know how to fill the warranty paperwork. OMG! I was so frustrated.

I would contact head office. My Zellers store has Price Match guarantee singage all over the store. Thats doesnt seem right.

Sara
Dec 29th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Tried to price match at Zellers last week with a future shop flyer on ONE CD.
This was what the manager told me â€œthey donâ€™t price match us so we donâ€™t price match themâ€
So we left and went to future shop!

if the item scanned for example $12.99 and the shelf price said $11.99 you would get it for $1.99 loblaws at certain locations doesnt like giving this you have to remind them as well as shoppers drug mart i have to tell them each time

Home Hardware price matches. I asked last fall (2008) and they price matched canning jars with Canadian Tire (saved me cab fare to get there!!) and when I went in on more occasions, for the same item, I just showed them my reciept and they were cool with it!
Did not need a flyer, or anything. The cashier called to a person in management or the department, and got the okay.

I price match stuff at Walmart all the time, as long as it is the exact same item, you bring in the flyer and it’s not on clearence in the other flyer or says 2 for 5$ or has a percent of price they will do it from any local store.

Futureshop had a great deal on Polk Audio home theatre speakers (regular $899) on sale in December online for $349, so I bought them. The following Monday they had their Customer Appreciation Sale with 20% off home theatre speakers, so I called Futureshop and asked for the 20% off and the 10% difference price match guarantee and got it. Total price $272.22 before tax. It pays to use those price guarantees.

Best Buy will price match costco.ca, but not the store since they can’t verify the price or that its in stock. I had to show my Costco membership card, but they didn’t check that it was actually mine. I got $40 + 10% diff off a car GPS. I think the model is being discountinued so I’ll be keeping an eye out for any further discounts during the next 30 days!

I think they also match amazon.ca, but since the item was out of stock i couldn’t take advantage of it.

In reply to scanning code of practice…some stores try to get away with not giving it to you unless you specifically know the policy and ask for the refund. They have the cashiers play dumb and ask ” Oh is that what you want to do ” I find the store that advertises the policy and then trying to re-neg on it…slimy

my dad bought 1 spindle of 20 pc double layer Dvd-r @futureshop for 24.99. Went home and used them. A week later london drug had the same item for 16.99. My dad bought one & took it to future shop. He asked for price adjustment. The reps refused to give it and said the one london drug sold was not the same one. So my dad asked for refund. They didnt know the item was from ld. Scanned it w/o problem. My dad got his refund using item he bought from ld. He went back to ld to buy some more.

Price matching anything at Toys R Us is like pulling teeth. Zellers had a Fisher Price baby chair on sale, but their store is a further distance than Toys R Us. I called ahead of time to ask if they would do a price-match and if they had the item in stock. I was told yes to both, but when I got to their store 15 minutes later, they refused. They said the item they sold was newer stock, and thus it was different, even though both items had the same UPC….

I saw an LCD TV selling for $359.99 at a Canadian Tire store but they were out of stock so I drove to another Canadian Tire store but notice that the price was listed at $599.99 – I asked the customer service rep if she can do a price match and after verifying with the manager she told me that Canadian Tire stores are independently owned and under no obligation to match prices and is strictly discretionary. In other words, they refused to match the price of the other store.

I can understand Price Matching when a store will give you extra money off of an item, but I can’t understand why someone would Price Match for the same price. If a store is selling items at a lower price, I will always support that store. The store that Price Matches is setting to high a price on their goods.

I’ve used price matching in the past with great results. However, yesterday I tried it at the Home Depot and was utterly disappointed. I needed a replacement pad for a home humidifier, which Canadian Tire lists at $11.99 on their web site. So I went to Home Depot, which was closer to home, and they had it in stock for $14.99. I looked at their price match guarantee and decided to give it a go. The person at customer service was nice, but told me in an apologetic tone that I needed proof in writing. Makes sense. Now, this was not an advertised item at CT, so I asked her if we could check it online (Best Buy, Future Shop, Staples, Blacks, Canadian Tire all will check online for you at their customer service desks in order to honour their PM guarantee) and she said that unless proof comes in writing they won’t honour it. I asked her what I needed to bring, as the item isn’t listed on a flyer or anything, other than the shelf price tab, She said I could talk to the store manager at CT for a letter. Of course, my first impulse was to drop everything and drive to CT to just buy this item. However, the gas to drive there was probably more expensive than to just buy it at HD, so I just bought it. Sure, I paid a higher price, but now I have a pretty good idea of which of the two stores will most likely carry better prices in general. Next time, I’ll just skip the Home Depot.

I’ve price matched at Home Depot recently – I guess their policy (what I was told) is that they’ll match a sale price and beat a regular price by 10%. I wanted some lightbulbs which were each $2 cheaper at London Drugs and then 20% off on top of it. I brought in a printout from London Drugs’ website and they accepted that. I ended up saving $20 on six lightbulbs! If I were them, I’d be embarassed a drug store was undercutting them by so much!

Walmart says they only “honour ‘Preferred Shopping Card’ advertised prices. Must be like items, be advertised and require a competitor’s shopping card, for the discount to apply.” (but they do not honour BOGO) Now, if I can collect points at those competing stores, why would I go to Walmart to purchase the items?

I do all my weekly grocery shopping with Price Matching I have a Walmart Superstore and they pricematch. And No Frills just started their price matching of direct grocery stores, Not Shopper’s Drug mart I haven’t tried Walmart sales with them. If one store is out of items them i go to the other. In our city we have 6 – 7 different chains of grocery stores so I have a lot of matching that I do. Food Basics doesn’t price match or do rain checks for their sales I asked. They said they don’t they are already a discount store so they don’t do that. I also match with home depot and Rona for Items. Even though I collect reward points I really prefer to collect dollars and not run all over town to do it. Because I juggle my price matching between chains I get the best selections by getting sale items from the other stores because their stock is not gone.
The other customers however who get in line behind me I have to let them know that they should go to a longer line it may take a while dependng on the cashier. I have numbered the flyer pages and I pre sort items by flyer to make it as quick as possible.

Best Buy is by far the worst for price match gaurantees. I don’t know why anynone would claim they are good to deal with for electronics. If you read their policy, it states that they will not match a price if it is a limited time offer, basically meaning ANYTHING ON SALE AT ANY TIME FOR ANY DURATION. I checked around and all the other big retailers that sell electronics like TVs will match limited time offers. London Drugs, Future Shop, Staples, The Source, Sears, they all match most limited time offers. Some of those stores won’t match limited quantity offers or online only limited time offers or doorbuster/early opening limited time offers (where the sale only lasts 6 hours or less), but they will match a price of an item if it is on sale for a couple weeks or so. Best Buy is the ONLY store I know of that will not match the limited time sales price of a competitor under any circumstances.

I was ripped off by Best Buy this holiday season when I bought a TV for $379. 2 weeks later THE SAME STORE was selling THE SAME TV for $369. I asked if they were going to give me credit for the $10 difference and they said no because of it being a limited time offer. Sure, maybe the $10 isn’t such a big deal, but it just shows what little weasels they are. The salesman told me specifically when I bought the TV that if I found the same TV on sale for a lower price, I could come back and get credit for the difference. Their policy only covers REGULAR pricing. BE WARNED.

I tried to price match at Canadian Tire in Goderich today – I took in a printout from Walmart where the identical item was $21.00 cheaper. The person at the service desk told me the item had to be in a flyer with the date. I am now waiting to speak with the manager as their policy posted on the wall mentions nothing about having to produce a flyer. This has left me with an unpleasant experience and I will not be doing business with this store.
On the up side I have found Home Depot and Rona very good at price matching, and the staff far more curteous than Canadain Tire – so much for buying Canadian!!

Future Shop does not price match. I bought a camera at Future Shop in November and found the same camera with extra accessories offered at Best Buy for their Boxing Week sale. There is a catch 22 – the sales receipt states that price adjustments will not be processed on December 26 and 27, but Best Buy sold out of cameras on December 26 so even though the camera is still advertised by a competitor at a lower price Future Shop says too bad so sad you should have bought the Best Buy package and returned the Future Shop purchase for a refund. Awesome customer service!!!

My experience with the black’s wasn’t so great. I was looking for a canon EF 55-220 IS len, it’s on sale at adencamera for 259.99, I went to the black’s in markville mall for pm (their price was 299.99 btw) and was refused, I was told “we only price match cameras not accessories”. I tried the best buy at the same mall, same story different excuse: we don’t pm aden… tried another bestbuy, the first person said no. I went to the CS department, talked to a manager finally got what I want and saved 22 bucks. don’t know if it is worth the hassle…maybe i should just buy it from aden in the first place.

I don’t see Zellers on your list and they have not posted this policy on their web page since the Customer Service told me this is just a new policy but they limited Price Matching to only two items no exceptions.

I went Blacks photo to price match an item from Aden’s camera. Apparently Black only do price match if the competitor (Aden’s) has the item on stock. At that time, since it was the last day of sale in Aden’s, Aden’s run out of stock, In other words, Black’s won;t sell it to me similar to Aden’s advertised price. That is Black’s policy on price match.
That same day I wnet to Henry’s to show Adens price, without any question, Henry’s camera price match it right away. Hat’s off to Henry’s camera in Windsor….while Black’s Photography Sucks in pricematching.

I do like the way you have presented this matter plus it does indeed supply me personally a lot of fodder for thought. On the other hand, coming from what precisely I have observed, I only trust as the actual reviews stack on that folks stay on point and in no way start on a tirade of some other news du jour. Still, thank you for this excellent point and while I do not agree with the idea in totality, I value the point of view.

London Drugs in Surrey BC will only price match one item at another store’s flyer price, so if I want 2 or more I go to Walmart for the price match.

Walmart here will only price match if the flyer does NOT say member price (like Safeway or Save-on-foods flyers have some member pricing).

All places seem to want the proof in a flyer (not online, like even if you show it on your smartphone)-but maybe that’s easier for them to audit.

Personally I find it hard to price match much, as the date of expiry of flyers are all different, and my sale item is rarely on the same page that the flyer date is printed. But I do try to check an item I want on http://www.shopping.canoe.ca to see comparison pricing before buying big items.

Guess most of you are down east. MemoryExpress has a price match and beat guarantee of 25%. I’ve also had crappy luck trying to price match at Canadian Tire. It’s painful to watch 5 people try to figure out how to use a phone book to confirm the price match with the other store.

Don’t count on price matching from BestBuy. When I recently asked them to match a price they said they had to add $50 for nextday shipping. Their final price was $10 more than their own regular price.
They don’t want to sell for lower prices. From the moment you mention price matching you can see the little gears turning in their heads; How can I add more money to the price so I don’t have to give this guy a better price. Future shop does the same thing. A sales clerk there recently said it was too much work to check the competitors price and availability. If they don’t match the price they’ll never see a dime of my money.

Walmart (And I worked there as a cashier seasonal this year as well)- Price match is awesome, they price match anything that has a name brand for the same brand, produce and meat they price match, but a lot of cashiers don’t know how to do the meat, so a CSM has to come and do it for them. They do not however match percentages off or BOGO offers

Freshco only price matches a couple of items that are in THEIR flyer that says “Cheapest Guaranteed”

NoFrills only price matches against local competitor grocery stores, this does NOT include Superstore or Lawblaws since they’re in the same “family”

Superstore does not price match here in Ontario 🙁

Futureshop I’ve never had a problem there, I went to buy mario kart for the wii that was on sale for $27 with wheel at the superstore, they were sold out, so I took the flyer over to futureshop, showed it to the cashier, she gave it to me for the %27 +10% discount no problem, another time we were buying a laptop for my daughter, and I just in passing was talking to my husband about going to the superstore to buy some wii controllers since they were having a no tax event, and the guy said, no, buy them here, I’ll give them to you at no tax, plus another 10% off, they also matched a microwave that walmart had priced $50 cheaper, without even needing to see a flyer, just told them the price difference and they took me at my word

Now, as for other places, never price matched there, so I can’t say for personal experience. But as for the scanning code of practice, that has rules on it as well. If the price scans differently, BUT there is a price sticker ON the item, then it doesn’t apply. And speaking as an experienced cashier, we’re not trained to “play dumb” about it, but we also don’t OFFER it to people, same as price matching, just because I know that say. Rice Krispies are on sale $3 cheaper at No Frills this week, doesn’t mean I give it to you just cause, you have to ask for the deal, and show me the flyer, and you have to ask for the scanning code of practice. It’s not my job to save you money. You do your part as the customer (ie bringing in flyers, knowing the actual price of things, paying attention to details), and us cashiers will do our part of inputting it into the system.